UPDATE!

So sorry it has been FAR too long since I've written. And basically, sooo much has happened! My last post I was still in school in Utrecht, slaving over stupid assignments that I feel I never did well at. It was so sad to end the semester. I had SUCH an amazing time, and just fell in love with the city in general. More than anything, I will miss that the most :(

Since then, my mom came to visit and we went to Den Haag, Brugge (BEAUTIFUL!), and Brussels, then back to Utrecht to pack my shit before leaving to the UK. On the 22nd, I took a BUS to London, met up with Ashley and then partied for Christmas. We went to Cardiff for a couple of day, then up to meet Vanessa and Sarah B. in Manchester, then on to Glasgow and AMAZING Edinburgh!

Such a great trip, and details and photos will come soon :)

LOVE TO ALL!!
Happy holidays :)

Happy Birthday, UDHR.

Prop 8 Musical!

Star-studded humorous attack on the government. Good times for all!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Someone forgot to tell me how bloody COLD it gets here!

Ok, well maybe someone briefly 

mentioned something, but I 

refused to listen. My b. 

This is the view from our house last weekend, before we went to Brussels on Monday.

It was so perfect, being on the train to Brussels, with snow falling all around us, like a Christmas card. True story!

Anywho, we stayed in Brussels from Monday morning until Thursday afternoon.

We were late the first day, and went straight to the European Commission press 

center for a couple of hours, where we were "lectured" by 2 people on Euro econ, 

then had 3 journalists tell us all about reporting life on the EU. Later we all went 

to find our hostel, then to a place called "Fodo Factory," which ended up being 

terrible and tasting like Denny's, but more expensive. Either way, we headed to

 an Irish bar and had a good rest of the evening. 

The next day we had to be up before the crack of dawn, around 630, and after taking the worst shower EVER, consisting of a drizzle of water down the wall, and then a normal amount shooting 7 feet across to the opposite wall, therefore not allowing for any normal flow for normal showering purposes. grrrr..

We headed back to the press center, where we had a FULL day ahead. More speakers, more Sarah sleeping. Then we headed to the press area of the European Parliament, sat where they had press conference, and talked to the old Prime Minister of Belgium. (He loves chocolate and waffles, as his body proved.) From there we went to a lunch at a Spanish restaurant where met the spokesman for the future EU presidency, the Czech Republic. From there we went back to the press center for more lectures/sleeping, then back to the hostel to get ready. We were going to a dinner provided by the European Journalism Center, and it seemed like an ok place where students would eat, but no no no, we were wrong.

Although there was free wine, the first course was a small glass of some sort of fruity-foam thing that was not delightful, then 2 lumps of something pureed that looked like hummus and was really good, but turned out to be PIGEON!!! worst.surprise.ever. then, there were carmelized onions and with a piece of prosciutto wrapped around them, and carrots on top, and then a piece of FOIE GRAS on top. What is that fancy French word, you ask?? Small DUCK LIVER! Ugh. Gag me. It sounds nice on Top Chef when they make it for every dish, but to think of the poor duck being fed practically till it explodes just ruins it all for me. I couldn't think of anything else, and although it was kkiiinnndddaaaa good, it tasted like cheese and thats weird. 

Then there was a fish dish, that I actually ate AND liked, followed by a yummy dessert. And lots and lots of wine! It was necessary. We went out to an empty bar with some of our professors afterwards, then to a little dance club that could have been gay? We're still not sure, but my guy friends were confused. 

Definitely stayed out too late, and the next day was muy dificil para todos. More lectures, then on to the European Commission press conference area, where the EC President Manuel Barroso of Portugal. The place was packed with journo's, so it was cool to see it up close and personal. Even though I did fall asleep for a short bit :) After that, we had a free afternoon that consisted of Meryl and I heading back to the hostel for a long, refreshing NAP! So, so good.

We all got ready to go out (room with 6 Americans and 6 Germans...lots of makeup and hair products and perfume) then wandered around until we found a Thai restaurant. DELICIOUS! I got the highest level 3 spicy, and while those of you at home probably wouldn't be phased, (especially Nikki and Barb) my mouth was ON FIRE! For a good 5 minutes I couldn't talk or breathe or anything...it was awkward. And Chimay, while tasty, does not overcome spicy.

After we met up with everyone at Delirium, a world famous beer house with over 2,400 beers from around the world!! It was so cool...they had a giant book that you could look up beers by their type or where they were from. Either way, we had a good time but stayed out pretty late, and the next day was a bit brutal. Everyone else either went home or to Luxembourg, so we went to have a "Thanksgiving" lunch at the Cheesecake Cafe, which unfortunately, was owned by the same people that ran the Food Factory! I hate them. But I did have real French onion soup, so no complaints here. 

After a long train ride home, I fell asleep around 830pm and woke up at 2 the next day, and it was glorious! This weekend was uneventful, but I bought some cute new clothes today so all is right in the world. Thank you H&M, thank you :)

Love to all!!!

It's snowing!!

Yesterday I looked out the window and thought it was going to be a beautiful, sunny day, but 10 seconds later it was pouring rain. As it got louder, I realized it was hail! From that it turned into a light snow, nothing too impressive, but I was soo happy!

Now, we're sitting all cozy in our apartment, and we look outside, and its just beautifully snowing. And actually sticking to the ground!! I'm loving it :)

Procrastination is the name of the game...

...and I am a WINNER!!

I feel like I am drowning in school work, but this just leads me to feel sad and mad about it and new shows online to devote my time to. In short, I've been in a bit of a depression funk, and I'm ready to get the hell out of it. 

The last 2 weeks all has been well on the social front. Thursday turned into an impromptu bar crawl, where 14 of us wandered in search of a bar with room, but because it was a nice evening, everywhere was soo crowded! We eventually ended up at a "very Dutch" in Emiels words, bar where we drank like champs, and the Danish Jesper bought us shots called the "brain crusher" or something equally terrifying. The night ended with dancing at a place we went first, which is something we never seem to do, and I had a great time. Unfortunately, not all was fun because we were 'celebrating/mourning' Amy's last day. She decided to leave the program and head back to Ohio, apparently it just wasn't her thing :(

The next night was again all about Amy, and we went to a place our teacher took us during the first week, a bar inside an old abbey. Sinful :)  From here we met up with a German guy who did the program last year and his 2 Spanish friends, then off to Filemon, a dance club I had yet to go to and was anxious about. Until we walked inside to HOARDS of gentlemen. I mean, I liked that the odds were in my favor, but it was just weird. But I was happy with the fact that they weren't as creepy and aggressive as American guys, and dancing with the girls was just what I wanted! (The 6 Euro vodka tonic was not though, boo.) That night ended in yummy falafel at, where else...FALAFEL CITY! (I can't wait for you to get here Mama!!)

Saturday I woke up at the ungodly hour of 1030 or so, then off to meet Leah at the airport. We met up with 2 guys from Gilroy, Gibbs and Neil, who have been traveling through Africa and Europe since sometime in August. This was a DISASTER, in the simplest form of the word. Instead of getting a hostel/hotel in the city center, they chose one by the airport. Unfortunately, it wasn't by the airport, and doubly unfortunate is that the airport is like 20 minutes away from the center itself. There was a lot of waiting/walking/waiting/bus transport/train transport/waiting/walking before we finally go there. Got some falafel and doner kabobs (sense a trend in my diet? eesh.) Then it was off to my first coffeeshop! I didn't participate because I'm not down with the whole "doing drugs" thing, even if they are legal, but they had a good time. 

We found a small bar down the street and sat and talked for awhile, and watched 2 elderly men play a game on the most protected 'pool' table I had ever seen (3 different layers of cover..) when it finally was free from the grasp of plywood and table cloths, it wasn't even what we think of as a pool table! Only 3 balls, and no holes. I was very confused, but let it slide because who wants to knock 2 old guys about their weird sporting habits.

Then we journeyed through the Red Light District, which is much, much different at night than on a sunny day, let me tell you. Stopped in a bar that played only the most random of music, saw a parade for gay rights run by, and then made our way out again to another bar.  This one was called "The Blarney Stone" and made me happy because I miss the one down the street from my apartment in SF :( By this time, the beer was definitely kicking in, only to realize it was only about 830 pm. The day seemed sooo long, and it was so dark, we had no idea! Very odd indeed. We stayed there till around 1 or so, then decided to call it a night. We headed back to the Central station, pockets empty, and got back to the airport. From there, we ate a deliciously late Burger King meal (shoot me now) and waited around. We thought about going back to the city, but then the trains were only running once and hour, and we missed the bus that only is once an hour back to the hotel. The we waited for close to 2 hours on the wrong side of the bus station, and didn't catch one back to the hotel until 4:52 am. Upon arrival at the hotel, the key cards didn't work and we had to bang on the door for the cleaning guy to let us in. FUN!

The next day was a little brutal, but I ended up leaving them and heading back to Utrecht to get a start on my homework. Of course, I got on a train I had never been on before. All I wanted was to get home, but I took the longest. way. possible. What should have been 50 minutes took about an hour and 20. I was so confused! But eventually I got there, and my bike was safe and sound, and I peddled me way home to comfort.

Monday night we went out to see ALPHABEAT! Another one of the greatest shows I've been to. Tivoli is a great venue, sort of like the Catalyst in size, but being in the 3rd row also helped. They put on an amazing show, and one of the lead singers, Anders (theres 3 guys in the band named Anders, wtf??) was soo into it, you could see the passion in his eyes, and through the sweat that continuously dripped off of him. We stayed after and just danced around, then went outside and on of my danish friends started talking to a guitarist, who he had gone to high school with. Somehow, he convinced the band and everyone else to come to the bar we were at, and while I tried to talk to the female lead singer who kind blew me off (water under the bridge, I'm over it now.) just being close to them was cool enough for me. I'm such a small town girl, its embarrassing. Who would have though I would get star struck over a band thats not even really famous yet?? Eh. Anywho, another late night but sooo worth it :)

I guess it's back to my studies, I'll post some pics later.

Smooches :)

The question is...now what?

I had been sitting in a bar, surrounded by people, when around 5:30 in the morning, it all becomes so clear why we had been waiting. CNN, breaking news: Barack Obama as the next President of the United States. It's a moment that will not only forever be engrained in my head, but also my heart. Of the people around me, there may have only been 10 or so Americans, but the feeling of joy instantly spread. But there was another feeling...a feeling of hope, of change, or finally turning 8 disastrous, deceitful, embarrassing years around to strive for what America is really about. 

Being here has shown me how people feel about Americans and the American government. While some people can't seem to grasp the difference between the two, the results of Tuesday night may finally shed some light on how we will finally work together, have our voices heard, and live up to all we can be without exploiting others, and even ourselves.

While I thought being here to hear the European viewpoint on the entire election, it also made me incredibly sad that I couldn't be amongst fellow Americans who depend on Obama to steer us off the path to hell and back in the right direction. Although the actions of the US no doubt have an enormous effect on the rest of the world, celebrating with them just didn't mean the same things. Their reaction was more of a "finally they did something right!" kind of thing, while Meryl and I sat their with tears in our eyes and exuberance in our hearts.

Although nothing can take away from exactly how happy I am about President Obama, I am still processing the fact that Proposition 8 passed with such high numbers. Yes, it was a close call, but 52.5 to 47.5 isn't close enough. 400,000 votes weren't close enough. How can we pass something so natural, so beautiful as the act (not even the RIGHT) of marriage, and then just take it away? How can those voters look themselves in the mirror everyday, and not see a homophobic, discriminatory, hateful person staring back? It really is beyond me.

It's times like these I thank God for my parents and grandparents, who see the good in people no matter their sex or skin color, and rather than hate because of differences, love because of commonalities. I was raised by people that not only love me immensely, but love other people just as much. 

I hope one day, people will see the errors of their ways. While I don't exactly know how I stand on the whole issue of religion, I do know that there was no single man who decided just how and why you could judge someone for who they are, when he is the one who (supposedly) created them.  I am a big believer in "agree to disagree," but sometimes just can't find it in my heart to allow these blatantly hateful people to overcome. 

At any cost, Obama is in, and the world is ready for some much needed change.

January 21, 2009 will be a glorious day for the record books :)